Lexical Summary sheva: Seven Original Word: שֶׁוַע Strong's Exhaustive Concordance cry From shava'; a halloo -- cry. see HEBREW shava' NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originthe same as shua, q.v. NASB Translation help (1). Topical Lexicon Biblical Setting שֶׁוַע appears a single time, in Psalm 5:2. David positions it at the very front of his morning prayer-psalm, “Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to You I pray” (Psalm 5:2). By choosing this rare noun he highlights the urgency of the petition before anything else is said. The term is not a casual request but an alarm raised from a place of helplessness, assuming that Yahweh alone can intervene. Literary and Theological Emphasis in Psalm 5 • Personal yet corporate: Though spoken by David, the psalm was handed to “the choirmaster” (Psalm 5:1), showing that private distress is meant to shape congregational worship. Relation to Other Old Testament Cries While שֶׁוַע itself is rare, its verbal root joins a family of Hebrew words that portray distressed prayer (צָעַק, זָעַק, קָרָא). Each nuance enlarges the biblical picture: The singular noun occurrence in Psalm 5 therefore distills these motifs into one concentrated outcry. Historical and Liturgical Usage Jewish tradition classified Psalm 5 among the daily morning psalms. Early church lectionaries likewise placed it in morning offices, teaching generations of believers to begin the day with a wholehearted plea for divine guidance and protection. In many hymnals the vocabulary of “cry for help” traces directly to this verse, shaping congregational language of lament. Ministry Implications 1. Pastoral counseling: שֶׁוַע legitimizes the emotional intensity of believers who feel overwhelmed. Pastors can point sufferers to Psalm 5 as a model that faith and desperation are not mutually exclusive. Canonical Trajectory and Christological Reflection Hebrews 5:7 recalls that Jesus “offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears,” echoing the Old Testament vocabulary of distressed petition. In the Gospels He often withdraws early in the morning to pray (Mark 1:35), embodying the pattern David set in Psalm 5. Christ, the true King, not only hears the שֶׁוַע of His people but has Himself uttered it on their behalf, guaranteeing that every cry for help reaches the Father’s throne. Practical Application for Today • Make Psalm 5:2 a template: begin prayer with candid admission of need. Shaped by this single but potent appearance, שֶׁוַע teaches that the believer’s first and best resource in distress is an unembellished cry for help, confidently directed to the sovereign yet accessible Lord. Forms and Transliterations שַׁוְעִ֗י שועי šaw‘î šaw·‘î shavILinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts |
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